Akira Yamaoka, the composer of the Silent Hill series said in an interview published in the December issue of Game Developer magazine that he believes the Japanese gaming industry is in trouble when compared to what American developers are currently doing.

When asked “What is it like working with an American team for Silent Hill 5? Is it different from having a team in-house with you?,” he replied:

It’s completely different working with an American team. There are of course advantages and disadvantages, but overall, I’m really impressed with the American staff and their technology. Their graphical and technical ability is amazing. There’s a huge leap, actually. They’re very advanced. I’m Japanese, and I think this is not just with Silent Hill but with the whole of the industry - I look at what American developers are doing and I think wow… Japan is in trouble.

We haven’t seen the magazine ourselves but according to a poster on NeoGAF, Yamaoka went on to say that developers in Japan are interested in producing something as fast and cheap as possible and are pressured to “perform like they did when they were 20.”